It’s a hot summer Down Under and everyone’s got sex on the mind. Eighteen year-old James has had a tough year. Having lost his mom to cancer and fought through grief to finish high school, he’s now got secret desires to contend with. It’s Christmas in Sydney, and he’s ready to cast his worries aside for the summer holidays, a time of poolside parties, bush walks and ocean swims. But who is the seductive young man who’s moved into the spare room? In this steamy coming-of-age novel, James and the men around him discover transformative new desires with the power to up-end lives or, possibly, unlock a brighter future. This promising debut explicitly captures rites of passage in an era of fluid sexuality and elusive masculinity. In this short kaleidoscopic novel, four men act on new sexual desires, and in doing so, clarify who they are, who they want to be, and perhaps even what they stand for. With an authentic voice born of lived experience, Levi Huxton deftly and movingly portrays how sexual desire can lead us to come of age and re-invent ourselves, however old we may be. Finalist, 2022 Lambda Literary Awards Winner, 2022 Passionate Plume Prize "Levi Huxton offers a rare reading experience: erotic, sexy and intellectually engaging." - DNA Magazine, April 2022 9.5 out of 10 - "Erotic and honest, readers will be wrapped under the spell of the main character, who has all of the others in his grasp. Authentic characterizations remind readers that life is frequently about letting go and embarking upon new adventures. The author capably creates emotional depth, making the conclusion especially impactful. A poignant and thoughtful storyteller." - The 2021 BookLife Prize "The Lodger, That Summer is Mr. Huxton's first published work. While brief in length, it is intellectually challenging and shows great promise for the future." - Rainbow Book Reviews "The Lodger, That Summer is a captivating, sexy, gritty, complex coming-of-age story. A perfect blend of fantasy and reality, Huxton's characters are flawed and intriguing, and his writing is smooth and addictive. I can't wait to see what he writes next." - Marley Valentine, author of Without You "This book is not a romance and it is not intended to be one. It is, however, many other things. It is a highly charged erotic tale, a coming out story, a coming-of-age story, and a sexual awakening, but it also drives deeper to target and expose those hidden parts of a man's soul. It is great to have found a new voice in author Levi Huxton with this debut book. His candor creates not only a melancholy spirit to parts of the story, but also an atmosphere that is tinged with tension, anticipation, and hope."- Joyfully Jay "Refreshing and beautifully written, while gritty and erotic at the same time." - Reviews by Amos Lassen "Lush, one of my top reads of 2021. This book is not for the faint of heart. Its raw clarity is probably my favorite part." - A.M. Johnson, author of Love Always, Wild

From the acclaimed author of Cashelmara: the “grippingly readable” New York Times–bestselling saga of a noble English family torn apart (The Sunday Times). Overlooking the bleak cliffs of Cornwall is Penmarric, the ancestral home of Mark Castallack. The stunning gothic manor is the picture of English nobility, wealth, and comfort. But as the twentieth century unfolds, those behind Penmarric’s towering walls face nothing short of disaster. As Mark and his children struggle to save their home and their aristocratic way of life, they must engage in a bitter fight against greed, ambition, betrayal, and even murder. Over her forty-year career, Susan Howatch has taken on the Anglican Communion and the British elite, and established herself as the queen of the historical family saga with such bestsellers as The Wheel of Fortune. Now, discover the magnificent, sweeping novel that started her reign and made her an international-bestselling author. This ebook features an illustrated biography of Susan Howatch including rare photos and never-before-seen documents from the author’s personal collection.

A National Book Critics Circle Award Finalist 'Autobiography' The renowned biographer’s unforgettable portrait of a family in ruins—his own. Meet the Baileys: Burck, a prosperous lawyer once voted the American Legion’s “Citizen of the Year” in his tiny hometown of Vinita, Oklahoma; his wife Marlies, who longs to recapture her festive life in Greenwich Village as a pretty young German immigrant, fresh off the boat; their addled son Scott, who repeatedly crashes the family Porsche; and Blake, the younger son, trying to find a way through the storm. “You’re gonna be just like me,” a drunken Scott taunts him. "You’re gonna be worse." Winner of the National Book Critics Circle Award and finalist for the Pulitzer Prize, Blake Bailey has been hailed as "addictively readable" by the New York Times and praised for his ability to capture lives "compellingly and in harrowing detail" by Time. The Splendid Things We Planned is his darkly funny account of growing up in the shadow of an erratic and increasingly dangerous brother, an exhilarating and sometimes harrowing story that culminates in one unforgettable Christmas.

This “lively” study of female lawbreakers across centuries and cultures is “chock full of disquieting stories and truly twisted personalities” (Booklist). Organized A-to-Z under six categories, this book offers insight into the lives and minds of women in different centuries and different countries, with diverse cultures and backgrounds from the poverty-stricken to royalty, who have defied law and order and social taboos. Read about mistresses, murderers, smugglers, pirates, prostitutes, and fanatics with hearts and souls that feature every shade of black (and gray!). From Cleopatra to Ruth Ellis, from Boudicca to Bonnie Parker, from Lady Caroline Lamb to Moll Cutpurse, from Jezebel to Ava Gardner—as well as less familiar names like Victorian brothel-keeper Mary Jeffries, American gambler and horse thief Belle Starr, and La Voisin, the seventeenth-century Queen of all Witches in France—you’ll find a variety of women from the daring and outrageous to the desperate to the downright evil. Wicked? Misunderstood? Naïve? Foolish? Predatory? Manipulative? Or just rebellious? Read their stories and decide. “[A] rollicking survey of 100 female renegades . . . this compendium of historical trivia is a lot of fun to read.” —Publishers Weekly Includes photos and illustrations

'Walsh writes with a warmth and humour about the disparate lives of four new mothers over one summer in Dublin. This is a touching, enjoyable tale of friendship in all of its complexities.' Anne Griffin A long, hot summer has just begun. Three new mothers gather in the park, in the shade of the trees, forming a tight circle. They keep each other close, sharing gossip, parenting wisdom and deep secrets. Gracie appears to have adapted to motherhood with ease, but secretly she wonders if the cost - to her job and her relationship - is too high. Free-spirited Lina is a single parent by choice, but finds that her decisions have consequences, for her daughter and for herself? And shy Jane is facing the battle of her life, against the man who should be her rock, and with the echoes of a painful decision she made years before. When a lonely new mum asks to join them, the circle opens to let her in. But Elise's arrival provokes mixed emotions amongst the other mothers, as each is forced to confront her true self and the fact that life will never be the same again.

A biography of Wilde’s most turbulent years, including the full story of the summer Oscar Wilde spent writing his masterpiece, when he was at the height of his fame, when his relationships were at their most tangled, and right before his life fell apart.

As the war to end all wars is about to be followed by another, a young woman finds her life taking the same tragic course as her mother's. One night in the summer of 1938 Violet Lowther’s mother Peggy is dying, her father Ellis is drunk in the pub, and Violet’s life is being ruined behind a dance hall in Barnsfield by a young miner who doesn’t look like Clark Gable after all. By September, the British Prime Minister is flying to Munich to try to make peace with Hitler, and in the same week, Violet travels to the remote moorland of Thorndale to visit relatives, escaping her own war with her father. But when Violet learns the truth about Ellis’ love for Peggy, will she finally be able to make her peace with him? The Peacemaker is a story of buried family secrets and the search for understanding from one generation to the next, and between men and women. Set at a pivotal moment in history it exposes how, in hiding our darkest experiences, the same human tragedies occur over and over again. 'A deftly handled historical novel with a modern twist.' Carole Bromley, author of The Stonegate Devil